France suffer big blow as talisman Payet ruled out of World Cup with injury

France must endure the absence of their talisman Dimitri Payet at the World Cup after the forward was ruled out due to injury on Thursday in Marseilles defeat against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Europa League.

There is no such hope for Payet, however, as he sustained a muscle injury in Olympique de Marseille’s 3-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

“He was a serious candidate for a place in the 23 but for this kind of injury it’s usually three weeks of recovery,” Deschamps told reporters.

“And there is a risk of hurting yourself again with this kind of injury and I must give my final list to FIFA on June 4.”The notable inclusions are Steven Nzonzi (two caps), Florian Thauvin (three caps) and Nabil Fekir (ten caps), who all put in impressive displays this season for Sevilla, Marseille and Lyon, respectively.

The most notable omissions were Anthony Martial, Alexandre Lacazette, Kingsley Coman and Adrien Rabiot, who form part of a 11-player reserve list.

France provisional squad

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur/England), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain);

Defenders: Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart/Germany), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona/Spain), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/Spain), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Adil Rami (Marseille), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City/England), Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid/Spain);

Midfielders: Paul Pogba (Manchester United/England), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich/Germany), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus/Italy), Ngolo Kante (Chelsea/England), Steven Nzonzi (Sevilla/Spain);

Forwards: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/Spain), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea/England), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona/Spain), Florian Thauvin (Marseille), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Thomas Lemar (Monaco);

On standby: Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla/Spain), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/Germany), Benoit Costil (Bordeaux), Mathieu Debuchy (Saint-Etienne), Lucas Digne (Barcelona/Spain), Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal/England), Anthony Martial (Manchester United/England), Adrien Rabiot (Paris Saint-Germain), Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace/England), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur/England), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea/England).

France will prepare for Russia 2018 with three warm-up games against Republic of Ireland on 28 May in Paris, Italy on 1 June in Nice and USA on 9 June in Lyon.

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